Prepare for the Worst....

My personal life philosopy is, "Prepare for the worst, Expect the best, Accept what you get, Move on". In light of that deep bit of thinking, lets look at what's been going on....

Prepare for the worst:
Night time summit temperatures can be around -30ºC with the windchill. I have been busy acquiring and testing my various layers to ensure I can be reasonably warm without much exertion at this temperature. So far I have reasonably succeeded. I say without much exertion because the climb to the summit is at a very, very slow pace, so slow in fact, you can't count on moving enough to keep you warm.

I plan to use disposable hand warmers to help ensure my water bladder doesn't freeze on the summit climb. I have checked with the University of Google, my 17 year old son (who knows everything) and his chemistry teacher. They have all assured me the hand warmers (which are oxygen activated) will work at the summit. Ms. Wong - if my water freezes, its all your fault!

Altitude sickness is a bitch...to that end I have a prescription for Diamox which I plan to take prophylactically. I will also ensure I am well hydrated at all times.

Nausea, a very common symptom of altitude sickness, is also a bitch...I have a secret plan to ensure I get sufficient calories during the hike no matter how nauseous I am. I am not ready to divulge it right now, but I will let you know on the blogs from the summit whether it works or not.

To get to the top, you have to do a LOT of walking.... I have finally gotten some orthotics for my hiking boots and shoes. I am up to eight hours a day in them and they seem to be working pretty well. I have been on one hour hikes in my boots with them and felt ok. Tomorrow I plan to do 1 1/2 to 2 hours to see how they work out. I am getting worried as my hikes are so short due to foot issues and an ongoing cold that I am losing what little fitness I may have had.

Expect the best:
The actual predicted temperatures for February at the summit are around negative single digits. This is a lot warmer than we have been preparing for. Caveat - they say altitude makes you feel much colder, so -6º at altitude is not the same as -6ºC in my front yard.

I got insulated tubing for my water bladder for Christmas, and combined with blowing back through the tubing and the hand warmer, I do expect to make it to the top with drinkable water.

Altitude sickness.... I expect to manage whatever level of altitude sickness I get with a minimal amount of whining (maybe even none). A friend who summitted 5 years ago (and is doing it again - the only person I know who's going for a second time) wasn't bothered at all by altitude sickness.

Nausea...I pretty much eat whenever I'm stressed, or nauseated, or sick, or depressed or...you get the idea. I imagine I will cope fine with eating while nauseated.

A LOT of walking... when we started training 10 months ago - Joan and Breanne said you don't have to be super fit to summit - you just have to be fitter than you were. I am definately fitter than I was.

Accept what you get.... Well, you'll have to wait until the trip blogs start being posted to decide if I have gracefully accepted whatever I got...

Countdown - I board the plane in 39 sleeps (February 7th)!

An interesting aside: I have been spending a fair amount of time on the internet reading blogs of people who summited and watching their videos as well as reading actual books on the subject. No body ever writes that it was easy and yet some of the authors speak of their companions saying the climb was easy. The question then, is it easy for some people and they don't bother writing about it? Do we publish our struggles for others to share and don't feel its worth it to post our journey if it was easy? Hmmmmm....I'm betting publication bias exists and there are people out there who didn't find the climb that hard or perhaps not even a life changing experience. Something to think about...

Life Goes a Bit Downhill...

Its been a very long time since I posted - mostly because as things have gone downhill, I've felt less like sharing...

I had some minor elective surgery at the end of October which curtailed my workouts for a bit as I wasn't allowed any strenuous exercise for two weeks.

When I got back to hiking with the group it was mid November and it was starting to get cold, which means we got some good opportunities to try out our layering systems. I had a few EPIC FAILS in that area, resulting in my shivering through lunch at a very nice restaurant on one occasion and being unable to feel my jiggly bits on a different day. In fact I was so cold one day my nipples hurt....TMI right?

We are up to three + hours of walking now - what that means is three hours of walking plus whatever time you spend going to the bathroom. I mistakenly accused Joan of being unable to tell time until she explained that if I quit lollygagging around at bathroom stops we could all be done sooner.

I did go out for a three hour hike with my two buddies one Saturday. It was -20ºC when we started. We practiced walking slow to replicate summit day and see how our layering faired. To practice going slow, I walk in front and pretty much walk at my usual pace. Helen did a fantastic job of staying behind me - in fact, basically glued to my shoulder so I could limit her usual breakneck pace. Two of us discovered we only need minor tweaking, one of us discovered she needs way, way, way warmer socks. Thankfully - no toes were lost during this outing! The best part.... warm drinks and homemade eatmore bars at the turn around spot!

I have been fighting ongoing foot pain. Across the top of my foot and up the inner part of my shin. It's worse after long walks and limits me from climbing stairs like an adult as I am forced to lead only with one foot. I tried chiropractic, massage, accupuncture, cupping, yoga, and analgesics without much improvement. Finally I broke down and made a trip to the podiatrist. I have inflammation of the muscle across the top of my foot and the anterior tibialis tendon. Result - orthotics, ice, cross friction massage (insert numerous expletives here) and rest.

Don't you just love doctors? When asked how much I could exercise on the foot he said, "Take it easy". Well, isn't that a helpful comment? Finally I pinned him down to a bit more specifics, which mean two walks less than one hour per week. Biking, rowing, elliptical and swimming are all allowed.

Still sounds like I can do a lot right? Sadly, the pain in my foot is a big limiting factor as, you know, when something hurts you should stop doing that! I am trying but haven't gotten very far. This is weighing heavily on my mind as my colleagues are taking 3+ hour walks and I feel like I can barely make it down the hallway.

My shopping is mostly done for the trip barring what I put on my electronic wish list, which I was very clear to send explicit directions on how to access to my friends. OK - really I only have one friend but it sounds less pathetic if I say friends! I have started collecting what I'm taking with me in one central location so that its all handy when the time comes. I mean, its not like I need to wear my sun hat any time soon in this country!

I tried to stock up on the snacks I'm taking with me, but...I just ended up eating them, so will need to repurchase those closer to leaving date.

Tale of the tape update:
I weigh the most I have since 2000. I am pretty unhappy about this. I am trying to be a bit more strict about what I eat - should be easy peasy since .... its only Christmas, New Year's and one family member's birthday between now and D day! Urgh....
I am one to two sizes smaller in pants.
I bought a medium fleece shirt last week, which is a size I've not purchased since I was 8 years old.
I had to purchase smaller long underwear since the pair I had went up to my bra line and I looked like Steve Urkel on steroids when I wore them.

Hiking and Camping...

Sounds like a department in the sporting goods store, doesn't it?

Update on group workouts - we moved to a new phase on October 1. Sounds impressive right? It actually means it's now too dark and shortly too cold to be outside in the evenings and to get quality workouts we have had to move indoors. We had our first indoor workout last week.

I mistakenly showed up with only one pair of workout pants...wait for it....yes, damn it, they were the ones with the exploded crotch. I ended up working out in my jeans. That being said, except for the part where I adamantly refused to run, I finished the workout. Did I mention I hate to run? I know for a fact I wrote it in very large letters on my trainer forms at the beginning of this journey. I wasn't the only one who wrote it either!

The workout seemed well within my current physical abilities - notice how I said, "seemed"? The next day I woke up with an amazing amount of tenderness in my hamstrings, so much so that I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get out of my car when I got to work. The day after was almost as bad. The interesting fact is that a few other attendees also complained of a bit of tenderness - perhaps the workout was a lot harder than it looked...I'm going with that one.

We had an extra group HIKE on Saturday -

this was for the keeners or those of us who can't stand to walk alone for 3 hours. Have I ever mentioned I'm boring - talking to myself for three hours is not at the top of my fun things to do list. We had a joyous walk through various parts of the river valley early Saturday morning. At one point it was only us and the ducks on the river. I happened to know there were quite a few ducks on the river because, due to an interesting path choice and lots of erosion this year, I was only a few inches from swimming with said ducks on more than one occasion!

A pretty good time was had by all - or maybe we're all faking it, but nonetheless we walked for almost 3 and a half hours and all lived to tell about it!

On to the CAMPing section....
I set up my tent so I could try out my sleeping bag. Why didn't I just try it in the house you ask? Well, its rated for -17º C and it just doesn't get that cold in my basement at night. My son and I put up the tent on the deck rather than staking it into the grass. If I had to bail in the middle of the night I wanted a very short walk to the house.

It was very windy last night and when I went out to go to bed the tent had blown across the lawn. Undaunted (or still stupid) I put the tent back in the same place and hauled my gear inside. It took me about twenty minutes to get everything where it was supposed to be and me inside the bag. That was the point when I realized my hip and shoulder had been bothering me all day. I tried for a long time to find a comfortable position - this is when I learned the most important thing...I am too fat for my sleeping bag. Seriously - once zipped into the thing I look like one of those pigs in a blanket. Moving is out of the question, so is actually taking a deep breath.

I gave up after half an hour. Dismantled the tent in under five minutes and was in my own bed (after ingesting some analgesics) in under 15 minutes. My children hadn't even gone to bed yet and so were laughing hysterically at me as I trudged down to the supreme comfort of my bed.

Anna, you asked why would I want to sleep out ahead of time, postulating it is just adding to the suffering. You said you planned to go to Africa and if things weren't good then you'd just suck it up and suffer for 5 nights. This is why - I would rather know now that I'm incapable of sucking it up or sucking my belly in enough to be comfortable in my sleeping bag.

There's still time to lose weight.....or buy a bigger sleeping bag!

I'm an Athlete .... sort of....

    There is a type of reasoning that goes something like this: Only dogs are blue, that animal is blue, therefore it must be a dog. If you apply that reasoning to my recent life: Athletes get athlete's toe rot, I have toe rot, therefore I must be an athlete. I'm pretty sure there's a fault in that reasoning somewhere - or I've become an athlete strictly from aquiring toe rot.

     SPOILER ALERT! The rest of this post will consist of whining and expletives - so if that's not your thing - STOP NOW! My feelings won't be hurt.

     I've been out of my workout routine since returning from vacation. Due to family needs I've not been getting to the gym in the morning and trying to work out in the evenings has proven disastrous. I am unable to move my couch potato arse off the couch after 6 pm and have therefore been very, very inconsistent with my workouts. Things have changed though and I'm ready to hit the early pavement again!

     Monday's early morning workout was sabotaged when I got called in to work at 2 am and didn't finish until 5 am. Even though that's normally the time I get up to work out, I found myself at the hospital without workout gear (and, might I add, quite tired) and again proved the adage, "Failing to plan is planning to fail"!

     Tuesday I "leaped" out of bed at 5 am (OK, I actually rolled off the edge of the bed) and tried to get my arse out the door to the gym. Here is where my whining starts in earnest...

     First, I couldn't find my cold weather riding gloves (Expletive #1). I was pretty sure my kid wore them yesterday and probably had them hidden away in his backpack (with his non-existent homework) in his room. As I was already arrayed in full on cold weather riding hear and starting to sweat, I didn't go up to his room to get them. Instead I rode in (very religious aka holey) summer gloves with the heated hand grips on high. I rode down the highway changing the hand on the handle bar every 6 seconds, trying to keep my digits warm. Failed.
     I just got a new workout plan from Joan and Breanne that calls for me to increase my aerobic "other" workout from 30 to 45-60 minutes. NOW, I actually learned a lesson from the stair climbing incident and since 1. this is my first day in a while and 2. I'm supposed to up my time, I actually picked the lower number and aimed for a 45 minute workout. Forty five minutes is perfect to watch a TV show episode on my IPAD. I got half way across the parking lot and realized I didn't have any earbuds in my gym bag (Expletive #2). I trudged back across the parking lot and retrieved them from my work bag.
     I got up to the gym, got all my outside gear (scary motorbike stuff) off and realized my IPAD was still in my bike luggage (Expletive #3). BUT, I had an IPOD in my jacket and resigned myself to listening to music and watching the food channel.
     So, I pulled my gym clothes out of my bag, dug through the extra shirts, socks and underwear before finding I had the wrong bra with me (Expletive #4). Now that doesn't mean much to my guy reader (Hi Steve!) but you girls know what I mean. If not properly restrained the girls start going off in different directions and it quickly gets very, very UGLY!
     Then I pull on the only pair of work out pants I had and discover a gigantic split seam in the left inner thigh (Expletive #5). I had no choice but to put them on - there's no way I'm gonna work out in my jeans. Ever opened up a can of Pillsbury Dough Boy biscuits? As soon as you crack the paper a load of white, puffy, doughy stuff explodes out of the edges of the can - there's no way you could ever get it stuffed back in there. That's exactly what my thigh looked like exploding out the inseam of my yoga pants. Now let me tell you, as much as I wish it could be true, repeated friction on extruded fat does not make it smaller. It does make it very sore and chaffed. In fact, it chaffes so bad you have to walk around the rest of the day like Steve Urkel with your pants pulled up to your neck just to ensure there is absolutely no chance of flesh rubbing on other flesh. It helps if you also walk like you've just spent a week on horseback.

     I FINALLY started my workout only to realize that reminding myself 4 separate times to take my beeper to the elliptical with me, is apparently not enough (Expletive #6).
     Seriously? Is the universe trying to tell me something?
Kwa heri (Bye)!

Notes on being: an Old Woman, Mosquito Fodder, an Idiot and on Christening my Boots

Long title - that's what happens when I don't post for a while, I've got lots of little stuff to share.

Here's a picture of me skipping my workouts on vacation!

First - on being an Old Woman -
     I bought compression stockings yesterday. Yes, they are for old ladies with varicose veins. No, I didn't buy beige. No, I won't wear the knee high socks with a dress. I actually bought them for the two eight hour plane rides to Africa. When I was young and (I was going to say cool, but come on, we all know that was never true) young, I took long airplane rides without even thinking about the possibility of getting a blood clot in my leg (DVT). Now that I am older and (I was going to say wiser but all three of my readers know that's not true either) creakier, I've realized how big a risk there is in getting a blood clot while traveling for long hours. I bit the bullet and bought old lady socks. Maybe, if you're lucky, I won't model them for you!

Second - on being Mosquito Fodder
     We have had a few group workouts in the evenings. For those of you who have ever been to Edmonton, you realize we have a bit of a mosquito problem. OK - a gigantic mosquito problem. Basically anything with blood is in danger of a quick exsanguination by mosquito. A friend of mine had 14 bites and that was just on one cheek - and not the one on her face either. I have even resorted to wearing mosquito repellent - sadly, I still got bitten - repeatedly. Still, its not like Africa is going to be bug free. I try to convince myself I am working on my mental fortitude by forcing myself NOT to scratch.

Third - on being an Idiot
     I know my three loyal readers are already shaking their heads sadly, they already know I'm an idiot and are just waiting to see what stupid thing I've done now. Well, after a 4 week hiatus from working out, stair climbing day rolled around. Now, smart people would start at a lower number of stairs than they last climbed, just because of the time off. Less smart people would do the same number of stairs they did last time. Idiots decide to do more stairs than last time and instead of climbing nice, forgiving wooden stairs, they choose to climb concrete stairs in a hot, humid stairwell.
     My idiocy occurred on a Friday. Its Wednesday now and today was the first day no tears came to my eyes when walking down the 1% incline in the parkade. I even managed the 4 stairs in my living room without taking them one leg at a time. Yay me!
     BTW - its stair day tomorrow - hmm.....should I add an extra hundred stairs this week?????

Finally - on Boot Christening

     My BF says your hiking boots are only really yours once you've peed on them. While on holidays I forgot to take my Go Girl with me. I was forced to pee in the ditch on more than one occasion. Now, let me tell you, I was the 4 year old queen of the ditch squat and nary a drop fell on my shoes. Apparently now that I am more than 11 times older than then, I have lost the art. Without my Go Girl I was forced to drop my motorbike knickers and pee in above mentioned ditch. And, of course, I christened my motorbike boots. They are mine now. No going back. My hiking boots are jealous. Don't worry babies - your turn is coming soon.....

View from the christening ditch.

The EAT-MORE Experiment

Now that I've sucked you in with an interesting title you have to wait till the bottom to read about it.

Assuming you haven't skipped straight to the bottom by now, here's how its been going lately.

I have been regularly doing about 1500 stairs once a week. Its a lot of up and a lot of down. Last week it was raining (no wimpy golfers were out on the course next to the stairs I use) and this week it was hot and humid. At one point I considered removing my shirt and just stepping in my bra top because, did I mention, it was 1) hot out and 2) it was 6 am and there was no one around? Did I mention it was hot already? Eventually, even though it was 1) hot and 2) no one was around, I did NOT take my top off. Want to know why? Because yesterday my son told me I had to dress for the body I have not the one I want! So, even though it was 1) hot and 2) there was no one around, I kept my shirt on. BTW - eventually I encountered one chipmunk, two birds, and three people so I guess I was wrong about 2) no one was around. By the amount of sweat I wrang out of my shirt, I was correct about 1) it was hot!

     We have had three Kilimanjaro group work outs, two of which I've been to. Basically we go up/down a hill with or without stairs and then we do some squatting, lunging, pushing up or other form of body work and then we go up/down the hill again. The first week it was raining and we were in the forest in the river valley. Yay, no bugs. This week it was super hot (35ºC) and, yay, no bugs.

     I did a two hour walk on the weekend at my neighborhood park, sadly, it was 1) hot and 2) there were bugs! I got mosquito bites which didn't impress me! Scratch, scratch, scratch.

     Onto the EAT-MORE experiment. I capitalized that word because 1) its a registered trademark and 2) it would be more visible if you skipped all the stuff above and jumped straight to the EAT-MORE experiment! I have heard from people who know people who climbed Kilimanjaro that EAT-MORE is the perfect chocolate bar to carry up the mountain because it doesn't melt in the heat and you can eat it when its frozen. So, on the aforementioned 35ºC day I put an EAT-MORE in my aluminum motorbike luggage, up against the side the sun was shining on, and left it there for the two hours we were doing our workout. When we were done I opened it up, and....the hype was correct. It was soft and a bit mushy but easily stuck together and did not bleed chocolate on anything. It was yummy too!

     I emailed the HERSHEY company to see if my fabulous ravings about their chocolate bar would in some way encourage them to pony up with a dozen or two for my trip. Sadly, they sent me a nice, but sans chocolate bar, letter thanking me for my comments. Sigh.. there goes my hope of free chocolate.

When winter comes (sooner than I want) I will try freezing it and seeing if it breaks any teeth. So, stay tuned (but don't hold your breath) for EAT-MORE experiment part 2.

Up is a Tough Direction!

So, I am supposed to add a day of stair climbing to my weekly work outs. It says one session of 10 to 20 minutes of going up and down the stairs. It (supposedly) doesn't matter if you do one long set of stairs a few times or a short set numerous times.

The first day I tried stairs I was at home. I tried walking up and down my ten stairs repeatedly. I gave up after 6 tries. I was worried I would slip on the carpet, worried I would wake everyone in my house up and I was getting dizzy from changing direction repeatedly. Granted, those are all pretty poor excuses!

The next week I tried stairs again. I headed off to my favorite trail in the river valley, schlepped myself down the nearest stairwell and used the walk to the next staircase as my warm up. I must say the idea of trying to continuously climb stairs had me very, very scared. In fact, I thought about putting some graffiti on the first step that said, "Be afraid, be very, very afraid!"

Since I had previously climbed these stairs a grand total of one time in a row, I changed my goal from 10 minutes to twice. I bravely (OK, I'm only brave in my own opinion) started up the stairs. Since I had forgotten my IPOD I started counting. When I got to 55 stairs I was less than halfway up and starting to breathe pretty hard.

The light bulb went on in my oxygen starved brain. "What if I turned around now and went down?" Perhaps that would keep my breathing under control (i.e. still happening) and I could still get the stairs done. So I did.

When I got to the bottom I turned around and went up again. Remember, my goal was twice. Well, after two trips up (and down of course) I felt like I could do some more. So...I kept going for 10 minutes.

Then I had a 5 minute "break" of walking up the trail and decided to do the whole thing over, therefore completing 20 minutes of stairs. When finished, at the bottom of course, I realized I had to climb the damn stairs I originally started at or I would be stranded at the bottom of the river valley. (Just for reference, the ambulance does not drive into the river valley paths, the EMTs have to stretcher you out of there).

Well, I made it up that last set of stairs, whereon I realized those risers were tiny and the staircase I had actually climbed was the one with the giant steps that I absolutely hated on all my previous excursions. DOH!

I did 918 stairs. Whew....(hm, maybe next week I'll try to hit 1000!)

PS. As a frame of reference, a friend of mine who has climbed Everest, spent hours climbing the stairs in Telus Tower with a pack and boots. This after a 12 hour shift working in emergency without eating anything.  Good thing I'm not that dedicated!

PPS. I'm pretty sure the mountain doesn't actually have stairs with rails to climb to the summit. Darn!

I Climb a Mountain!

I am in Canmore, a lovely little town in the Rocky Mountains. Of course, since I am training to climb a mountain I thought I should take advantage of the locale and climb one here. I chose Lady MacDonald Trail up the aptly named Mount Lady Macdonald.

It is labelled as a moderate hike/easy scramble in the tourist propaganda. 4 hours round trip with the first two hours being hike and the rest scramble according to the internet. Hmm two hours hike and then scramble in a 4 hour round trip, somehow the numbers don't add up.

Regardless, I hit the trail head in my boots, with my poles, and carrying my pack. In it I had 3 litres of water, a couple of snacks, an emergency blanket, whistle, flashlight, a jacket and toque. Just in case I have to spend the night on the mountain I don't want to suffer too much.

The path was well marked and rocky/dirt with exposed tree roots. The first thing I noticed is that I was almost instantly out of breath. All the way up it was like I had just hauled my fat arse off the couch and decided to run a marathon. I tried to blame it on the elevation, which must be higher than my couch at home since I live on the blessedly flat prairies. Eventually I got into the rhythm of walking 200 steps and then pausing for 10 breaths. I think it is mostly psychological, I felt that if I was breathing hard I must be working too hard. I mentally assessed how I was doing and repeatedly came to the conclusion that I wasn't overly stressed or working too hard, I was just working harder to breathe. I imagine this is going to be an ongoing thing at the altitude of Kilimanjaro. I think it will be a hard thing to prepare for.

I climbed, and climbed, and climbed. I finally truly understand the purpose of hiking poles. You think you get it while walking up the paved trails in the river valley, but it is nothing like digging your pole into the dirt and really hauling your arse up the hill. Needless to say, my arms are weaker than my arse is heavy. I promise to tone down my bitching about the push ups in the training program.

 I decided before I started that I would climb up for an hour and then turn around. A four hour hike is outside my physical readiness at this point. I now understand why people go too far when they are climbing. I kept thinking I was almost there and just wanted to climb through the next switchback to see if I could see the top. I did stick to my plan and at one hour I stopped for a sit down and a snack. I planned for a 15 minute rest but was cold after 8. I even put my toque on to see if I could stay warm. I was damp with sweat and there was a bit of a breeze through the trees. Although it was 13C in the town, I imagine it was a bit cooler up here.

 This was the point where I discovered cotton panties are a bad idea! I had sweated through my underwear and the crotch and inside thighs of my nylon pants were wet. This wasn't too bad while sitting but as I started to descend I was experiencing the dreaded fat girl thigh rub. Its a good thing my pants were wet otherwise the friction of my thighs would have started a fire!

 I was quite worried about the trip down. I have a few knee issues and back in the dark ages when I used to run I always hated the downhills. This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I figured out how to use my poles going down, took mincing steps and basically went down the mountain with steps the length of my boot. On the good side, no problems with the breathing! I made it down in 62 minutes.

One guy passed me on the way up. Wearing shorts, a t-shirt, trail runners and using poles. He passed me on the way down too. Shirt tied around his waist, carrying his poles and RUNNING down hill. All I could say was "wow" to which he replied, "I do this all the time". I wished I could have seen him running longer because it was a joy to watch him moving like that. Nonetheless, I kept mincing and didn't try any running.

Things I learned (in no particular order):
      Cotton underwear are bad.
      Thick socks are good.
      I need to hem my damn pants before I take them to Africa.
      The good and bad parts of up and down balance out. Which ever one I am currently doing will make me wish for the other.
      Dairy Queen Blizzard is a good supper after mountain climbing!
      And yes, when I titled this "I climb a mountain" I figured you would immediately jump to the conclusion that I actually climbed to the top. I never made it out of the trees. Hmm, maybe in the autumn....

Catching Up...

Aggghhh, its been almost a month since I posted. My only excuse....sheer laziness. Often when I am workong out (if I can still breathe and am not solely concerned with staying alive) I will write a blog in my head. Alas, they must wash away with the post workout shower because most of them are Pulitzer Prize winning posts and yet don't appear here.

Things have been going very, very well lately. I am consistently doing some form of physical activity 5 or more days a week. Now that summer is here I (quite unhappily) can add yard work to my activity regimen. I mowed the lawn yestday, which is one of my less favorite chores. However, I decided I was working on my will- which is your ability to make yourself do something you don't want to do. Having a strong will is apparently important for forcing yourself out of your warm sleeping bag and into your cold boots for another day's climb on the mountain.

I have been enjoying long walks, both around the park near where I live and in the river valley with a dear friend. Actually, this one is more of a moving conversation than a work out but no where is it written that work outs must be unpleasant! I have made my hiking boots my own (unlike my friend and future climbing companion H, who hasn't made the committment yet) and have worn them outside. My boots looked so fantastic, all clean and pristine, but now they look a bit more like an old friend and a bit less like the model in the fashion magazine.

I have been going to hot yoga once a week. Loving the sweating! My body loves the yoga too and I relish that feeling when all my body parts coexist peacefully, everything moves as it should and nothing complains. Pure bliss (once I shower and have a cold drink of course)! I love it when my body feels content. I missed yoga last week due to weather issues and am really looking forward to today's class at noon. Yes, I know you just reread the last sentence and are wondering how I can miss an indoor class due to weather. Well, it was a sunny and extremely lovely day and Saoirse (my motorbike) was calling so loudly I went out riding in the time slot I usually go to yoga. It was the most fantastically correct choice for that day!

I have been reading a lot of winter camping and backpacking books looking for some tricks and tips. One I plan to use is to get a hard sided Naglene water bottle, fill it up with boiling water, put a wool sock over top and throw it into my sleeping bag before I go to bed. Voila, warm feet when I crawl in!

This month's group information night was a session with the owner of the tour company that is arranging our trip. It included some pictures and lots of question answering. I especially liked the picture of the 72 year old woman on the summit- maybe there's hope for me to get to the top.

Important things I learned - not in any special order!
     Tse flies are the size of horse flies. They hang around the animals (wild ones, not usually us) so if they are around us on safari we can ask the driver to move away.
     On safari the guide will check your tent for snakes and big bugs before you go to bed if you ask him. Seriously, who's not going to ask him? He'll even check under the bed for you!
     For our group of 30 trekkers (that sounds so much more sophisticated than walkers) there will be a total of 183 people in our party. There will be three porters per walker. That is a huge amount of people! Which I translated into there will always be someone around watching for the full moon when I'm trying to duck behind a bush to answer nature's call.
     You have to supply your own toilet paper pretty much every where in Africa.
     There are outhouses on the mountain. They are wooden buildings with holes in the floor for your offerings. Not much different than in China with the exeption that the holes look a lot smaller. Its a good thing I've got squats in my workout program cuz I'm gonna need the thighs o' steel again.
     Still on bodily functions, I'm getting very proficient with my Go Girl. (I could add more here but I think that'll fall under the TMI category).

We had a potluck at the info session and had to bring a "healthy" snack. Since the organizers were providing fruit and veg I scratched my noodle a lot trying to figure out what to bring. There was an amazing assortment of snacks, and aside from the shrimp and sushi, no meat! Vegetarians rejoice! Sadly, no one figured out how to bring something healthy that was covered in chocolate.

We are renting sleeping bags for the climb and have been encouraged to bring a liner. One of my big worries is that I will be cold at night. When I go camping my husband faithfully puts out lots of BTUs and is happy to share them with me whenever needed. I'm pretty sure my tent mate will want to keep all her TUs (she's not from Britain) inside her own sleeping bag. So I did some research and found a liner that is supposed to increase your bag's temperature rating by 15 degrees C. I got it and have tried it out. Yes, I felt silly sleeping in my bed inside my sleeping bag liner, but there was no one around to laugh at me and I now know it can accomodate my unique sleeping mannerisms. I might even consider putting up the tent and trying it out. Anyone interested in a backyard sleep over?

None of my family is interested in walking with me. Here's a picture of me in my walking gear. Perhaps you can figure out why my teenage sons don't want to be seen with me in public.

Go Girl!

Fair warning, if reading about bodily fluids turns you off, then stop NOW!

Still with me? Today's topic is about wee (pee, #1, seeing a man about a horse, going to the loo, finding the WC, voiding, urinating....)

Still, still with me?

While at Camper's Village purchasing boots I also bought what I consider a required necessity for the Kilimanjaro trek - a "Go Girl", which is a brand name for a female urinal. Another brand name is the "She Wee".

I have been carrying the little tube with the Go Girl in my coat pocket since March 22. I keep forgetting to do something with it. My 16 year old son found it in my pocket and was totally grossed out. That's not easy to do with today's crop of teenagers. He can kill cyber beings with wild abandon but the thought of his mother peeing standing up is just too much!

Today I decided to "get down to business" and actually try the darn thing out. From the online reviews I gathered it's important to do a bit of practicing ahead of crunch time.

Not being very brave, I decided I would try it out in the shower, where any unfortunate happenstances could be washed away without much effort. So, having to "go" just before I was going to get into the shower spurred the thought it was finally time to try the Go Girl out. I eagerly ran down the stairs to get the thing out of my coat pocket (yes, I was naked, sorry for the visual).

First thing I learned - its hard to open the darn container when you have to go! Eventually I read the label which is clearly labelled, "Open here". The pink silicone funnel is soft and pliable, and aptly labelled "up" at the wide open end. Did the company learn the hard way that some people will try to wee into the narrow end of the funnel?

Appropriately applied to the correct anatomical area while standing in the shower, I patiently waited for the fun to start. Let me tell you... after 45 years of peeing while sitting down, it's pretty hard to get started standing up! Eventually my brain convinced my bladder it could do its job while I was standing, and..."success".

The thing works great! It comes in its own little container, is soft,and makes a nice seal around the important bits.

I think, weather permitting, I might sneak out into the back yard and see if I can write my name in the snow!

Post note: Even though I actually CAN refold a map, I can't fit the darn thing back into its package!

How The Mighty Have Fallen!

Once a week I'm supposed to do a work out that is NOT walking. In other words, I need to mix it up a bit.

Today was mix it up day. The last time I tried this I thought I was going to die on the elliptical. Today I went on the spin bike.

Let me digress a bit. In 2007 I bike commuted to work 60 km a day. I was pretty fit and really enjoyed riding my bike. In 2009 I entered a two day bike tour and 5 miles in I crashed and broke my thumb requiring surgery and effectively ending my season. The next year I barely rode at all due to a back injury and eventually sold my road bike to my sister who could love my bike the way it deserved. Its safe to say I was used to a fair amount of saddle time.

Today I got on the spin bike and almost immediately realized my who-haa has lost all the bike callous it had. Ouch! I persevered for 12 minutes. My who-haa had gone numb, which I was effectively ignoring, when my left quad seized up and refused to turn the pedals anymore.

Searching for something else to do, I decided on rowing. I own a rowing machine and I used to regularly row hard enough that my machine was almost floating in a huge pool of sweat. I hopped on that machine and got going. Wow, made it a whole 3 minutes before my back decided in no uncertain terms that I would not be rowing any longer.

Now I was out of non walking options except for the elliptical, which almost killed me last time. Ha! It wasn't so bad and I wasn't even close to red lining.

So, it smacked me pretty loud upside the head that I used to be fit and now, not so much. Also, just in case I hadn't realized it, my body spoke up pretty loudly that I'm getting a bit decrepit.

Hmm, I'm still going to the gym tomorrow, decrepit, fallen from magnificence weaknesses and all! Come join me at 5:30 am and you can lap me on the track too!

PS, if you consider only role models get imitated, an older gentleman has deemed me worthy. He was going around the track in hiking boots this morning. Maybe next week he'll man up and add in a back pack and trekking poles!

Unique Among The Rabble!

I am becoming more unique by the day at the gym. Today I did my hour walk in my hiking boots, with a back pack on and using my hiking poles. Its safe to say I was the only one there with any of that gear on!

However, the regulars have gotten used to me, so its only the new people who stare slightly too long when passing me as I do my laps.

I am up to two sessions a week with a one hour walk and two to three sessions of 45 minutes on the treadmill, set on "muscle toner" program. I think that's marketing's way of saying "make your ass smaller" in a politically correct way.

I am walking in my hiking boots but am not convinced they are the right ones. They felt okay on the treadmill but during today's walk my toes touched the edges. I stopped at Wholesale Sports and tried on all of their offerings, but didn't find anything comfortable.

Through the program we are being hooked up with a dietician in training if we want, which, of course, I do! I had to fill out a three day diary of everything I ate. I wasn't supposed to change the way I eat but truthfully I found myself choosing not to eat some things because I didn't want to write them down for the dietician to read (Mini Easter creme eggs come to mind). I sent my stuff in so will keep you posted on how that goes.

I read a blog on the net from another woman named Cathy who climbed Kili in September. She was a Brit raising money for a charity close to her heart. I did not read far enough back to see what her training was like but she had a hard time. She eloquently spoke about how physically and mentally hard the climb was. I think I will be as ready as possible a girl from the low altitude, flat prairies can be, but I'm a bit scared about the mental pressures I'll be facing. When faced with a tough day will I want to quit? Stay tuned and I'll let you know.

Catching Up

So, its been over a month since I posted last. Do not fret fair readers (all 2 of you), although I've not been blogging, I've not been just sitting around.

I have been working out pretty regularly each morning, getting up around 5 am to get the workout done before going to work. I am now up to walking between 45 and 90 minutes about 5 days a week. Some are with poles on the track and others are on the treadmill on the "muslce toner" program.

Had my first meeting with Breanne who gave me the group workout program on March 13. The strength training portion consists of squats, plank/pushups, one legged bent dead lifts, bicycle legs and supermans. On the very first day I injured my back. My chiropractor (whom I call Mouffassa after the Lion King) says I have very weak hips and gives me clamshells to do instead of the dead lifts.

One night I have bad liver pain, faint and cushion my fall to the floor with my face. Notably my left cheekbone. That sets me up for a fantastic black eye. However, on a positive note, the fall got rid of my liver pain.

We had a night at Camper's Village to learn about hiking boots, day packs and other important gear. I translated "other important gear" into the "GO Girl" urinary aid for women - which basically allows you to pee standing up without having to take all your clothes off. This I view as a necessity. Apparently you need to practice before using it and I've been too busy lately to think of it. Will update you when I get around to attaining every camping girl's wish. I did also come away with some hiking boots. I have worn them for two treadmill workouts and so far, so good.

I went away for a few days to a conference in San Francisco. Did you know SF has hills? And I don't mean the puny hillocks that pass for hills here in central Alberta but heart pumping, calf stretching, thigh burning HILLS! It was all downhill to the conference but way, way, uphill all the way back. Climbed so many hills I almost felt righteous eating some Ghiradelli chocolate!

Now the conference is over and I'm back home, getting back into working out regularly and eating better (or at least, less chocolate).

Monthly summary:
After one month my black eye is almost gone.
I haven't lost any more weight, in fact I seem to be bouncing around a lot.
I have gone down two pants sizes and am getting closer to another size down.
I need more socks to wear in my hiking boots.
I am going day pack shopping next week.
Aches and pains: my hip and knee are good, the top of my foot is aching (might be some extensor sheath irritation). My shoulder is bugging me, my pushups are still at the beginner level.

Stay tuned - this month's group meeting is for a talk on mental toughness!

First Team Meeting

We had our first full group meeting last Wednesday night. It was a chance to meet the twenty plus people who will be climbing up the mountain next to me (ok, actually, far, far in front of me, but you get the picture).

The dreaded "get to know someone new" activity involved finding the person whose name was on the back of your name tag. I found my match right away. Now, let me digress a bit here and tell you I was one of those always picked last kids on the playground. Okay, that's a bit of a lie, when I was the last kid left, the team whose turn it was next would say something like, "We'll take the garbage can, that pile of clothing, and spot you four goals if you take her!" Now that I'm older (notice I didn't say grown up), I've gotten over those feelings of unwantedness. Thank goodness, because no one "found" me to introduce themself. The one person who unexpectedly was unable to show up had my name!

We learned a few intersting things. Tse tse flies, which carry sleeping sickness, are attracted to blue. Hmm, the group coats are all blue. Is that a coincidence?

We found out there is a one bag, thirty pound weight limit for luggage. There was a very loud, very panicked gasp from the back row and I'm sure that lady was on the verge of cancelling her trip before it was revealed the limit is only for climbing the mountain, not the whole three weeks.

Joan and Breanne, the fitness trainers leading us on this journey, made sure we knew that since we are all starting from different fitness levels, the goal is not to be uber fit next year, its just to be in better shape than we are now. The interesting thing is that my friend Helen can work out like a demon all year and if she's really lucky she may gain 1% fitness above where she is now. I can be dedicated and work out regularly and I'll gain about 1 x 10 to the power of 6 fitness! However, she'll still be way, way out of my fitness league!

Good things from this week:
Down 8 lbs in total

Pants are noticeably looser. I even fit into a smaller size shirt when the occasion demanded (Hello Kitty Valentine's shirt).

Two people asked if I'd lost weight, one was my BF, so that was expected, but the other was someone who doesn't particularly like me, so maybe I look more svelte.

I passed someone on the track! I wasn't sure what to do once I was in front of her, but settled for shoulder checking before cutting back into her lane rather than the mighty touch down dance I wanted to do.

I finished a workout and had that "My body feels good, strong and capable" feeling. As if I could conquer the world, or maybe I already did.

I have two new gym buddies, people who you see repeatedly when working out. We've now passed the nodding stage and have moved on to spontaneous "hi".

Weird moment of the week: I was on my treadmill at home, reading a book, going along at my tortoise speed when all of a sudden my body sent an emergency message to my brain, "I'm DONE!". My brain, obviously confused from lack of oxygen or carried away in the bodice ripper scene I was reading sent back a, "What are you taking about? The treadmill hasn't beeped and is still running - you're NOT finished yet!". Legs rebelled and won, workout ended.

Pole Pole

Pole pole is Swahili for "slowly, slowly", which is what the porters say to you as they pass you multiple times while going up the mountain. They are packing your stuff up the mountain, while you have to concentrate on packing your possibly very large arse up there. Acclimatization is apparently a bitch.

I showed up at the gym with all the hardcore gym bunnies- you know, the ones who are foaming at the mouth waiting to get in when the doors open in the morning. Now, don't mistake my meaning, I haven't become a hard core bunny, I just happened to be breathing the same air as them yesterday morning at 05:30 am.

I did a "long" workout, 70 minutes walking around the track with my trekking poles. I know I looked weird, walking around a flat track with poles, but my arms have to get in shape too (no, flabby is not a shape) and I'm not ready for hills yet.

Every single person on the track passed me, many more than once! Grandmas and Grandpas with such bad scoliosis their shoulders are 3 inches off level, fit guys running hard, overweight people of both sexes who can walk at something resembling a "I need to get there sometime today" pace and even the guy walking backwards (I don't know why- he was passing too fast to ask)!

I kept repeating "Pole pole, its not a race up the mountain, why race now?" Still, when I got lapped by the woman who appears the same age as my Grandma, my self esteem took a major dive!

Body check in:
Down half a pound
Right knee sore due to very, very tight calf muscle.
Finally might be rid of my paresthesia meralgia (nerve pain along the outside of my thigh) thanks to very, very, very painful release of my QL muscle.
Sleep: spontaneously waking up at 5 am whether I need to or not, very tired at night, quality of sleep, reasonable for me.

Tale of the Tape

Height of plain of Africa: 3,340 feet above sea level
Height of Kilimanjaro: 16,000 feet above African plain

Height of Edmonton: 2,192 feet above sea level
Height of Cathy: 5 feet, six inches above Edmonton

Fleas can jump 38 times their body length
Number of times Cathy would have to jump her body length to get to the top of the mountain: 2,910

Geology of Kilimanjaro: formed from three distinct dormant volcanoes
Geology of Cathy: made of too much junk food (205 lbs worth)

Last eruption of Kili: 200 years ago
Last eruption of Cathy: today 9:00 am

Major health issues of Kili: potential for altitude sickness, hypothermia, malaria
Major health issues of Cathy: overweight, out of shape, injured knee from falling down stairs last month

Kilimanjaro from space:



Cathy standing on the Great Wall of China, which is visible from space:


Pounds lost this month: 6

And So It Begins!

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." T.S. Elliot



My grand adventure started with a brief email titled, "Kili!!!"

A group from Helen's gym is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in February, 2013. Five minutes and four pages of information later I was registered for info night. First Lobster (my husband) was already not impressed I was considering a three week trip to the "dangerous middle of no-where".

Info night has come and gone. No discussions scared me off and my credit card has since been dinged for the deposit.

I have stepped out of my box and will be climbing the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. ME! I am horribly excited and scared "poopless" at the same time. What was I thinking?

So far I have started going to the gym more regularly than before (of course, even once in a row is more regularly the before!)

I am posting this picture of Kilimanjaro on the fridge and on my wall at work. Might as well start visualizing now.

Oh, a visit with the sport psychologist is included in the training...I think I'm gonna need it!